Teenagers as young as 13 to 15 years old have already tried vape products in different flavors such as cookies and cream, and even pistachio.

Health experts disclosed this during a hearing of the Senate Committee on Health and Demography on the various pending measures that sought to either ban or strictly regulate the use of electronic cigarettes, including vapes and heated tobacco products in the Philippines, which stakeholders in the health industry said is getting alarming.

Dr. Glynna Ong-Cabrera, of the Lung Center of the Philippines, said she was surprised to find this out during one of their recent lectures in a group of students Grade 7 to Grade 9.

“I was surprised that they are already aware of the various flavors. Because the only flavor I’m aware of is only chocolate and strawberry. But they were telling me about cookies and cream, pistachios…and these kids have already tried them. And they are only Grade 7 to Grade 9,” Ong-Cabrera told the panel headed by Sen. Risa Hontiveros, affirming that the age of these students are 13 to 15 years old.

“I’m just emphasizing that they are really exposed (to these products) and the designs are very attractive. They can easily buy it online. And sometimes, some of the online sales will give them discounts or free shipping,” she further said.

Dr. Rizalina Raquel Gonzales, chairperson of the Philippine Pediatric Society Tobacco Control Advocacy Group, also expressed belief the number of teenagers who are using these products must have swelled after the Covid-19 global pandemic.

“Based on the Global Youth Tobacco Survey—that was in 2019—pre-pandemic, mind you, the data was obtained among public schools from Grade 10 to 12. It does not include the private schools who may be able to access these products,” Gonzales pointed out.

“Now, times have changed. So how many years? It's seven years. Data should have been swollen. And unfortunately, the CDC Office on Smoking and Health was debunked. So we don't have the means to do the Global Youth Tobacco Survey. Alarmingly, that was 14 percent among our teens who are users. And 24.7 have tried it.

“But during our survey in schools last year, more than 60 percent or 70 percent of the students have tried because of three data,” she pointed out.

Gonzales lamented that heated tobacco products is available online, in retail stores, and are readily available with the proliferation of the 24/7 vape shops.

“Even though there is an age restriction of 18, who mans watching over these stores at night, we don't have curfew for children to buy that. Well, unfortunately, marketing, business is business. And those wee hours, are children can go there. Then online, they will just click the button 18, and presto, the rider will deliver, not even asking for an identification or an ID to state that it's 18,” she lamented.

Sen. Raffy Tulfo pushed for the total ban on vape products in the Philippines citing the increasing number of young Filipinos becoming addicted to them, noting that teenagers vaping in the country sharply jumped from 37,513 users in 2021 to 423,185 in 2023, with many products unregistered or easily bought online by minors.

“These devices are not only addictive, they are designed to hide in plain sight, often resembling USB drives or pens, with sweet flavors like candy and fruit, combined with the dangerous misconception that vaping is less harmful,” Tulfo said.

“In reality, there seems to be no age restriction in some vape shops – minors just walk in and out. And if they can’t buy in the store, just one click online on Shopee, Lazada, TikTok Shop or Facebook, and vape is available immediately. There are even sellers who change the spelling of the product or put asterisks on some letters, and sometimes post different pictures to get around platform rules,” he lamented.

“So even though the minimum age in the Vape Law is 18 years old, students are still able to buy because age verification is weak,” Tulfo pointed out.

During one of his team’s investigation, Tulfo said they have found some vapes that may contain cannabis or other illegal substances easily sold on platforms like Facebook,

“If it’s this easy to find, it seems like the illegal product is being directly delivered to our youth. So a total ban on vaping will help prevent these types of illegal substances from entering our market,” the senator added.

He also raised concerns over widespread vape advertising on social media, including flavor reviews, tricks, and unboxing videos.

“The Vape Law provides that advertising should not target minors, yet on TikTok and other social media platforms, vape content is everywhere – vape tricks, flavor reviews, and unboxing posts that are easily accessible to young viewers. Even if they are not the target, they are still the audience,” he also noted.

Sen. Pia Cayetano, who has been a long-time advocate against the use of electronic cigarettes, including vapes and heated tobacco products, renewed her call for stronger regulations on these so-called “alternative cigarettes.”

“We should have a healthy discussion on do we also ban, should we also increase the age of access to these tobacco heated products…from 18 (years of age) do we bring it back to 21? Or do we bring it to 25? Or do we bring it to 30? Let’s clearly define what goes on in the decision-making of an 18-year old, 21 or 25 year old…” she said, also during the hearing.

The Department of Health (DOH), for one, is looking clearly into the direction of banning the use of vapes and other electronic cigarettes considering that eight (8) other neigboring countries in the ASEAN region have already done so.

“It is only the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia that are still into the regulation of vape products, and not banning these,” according to Tina Marasigan, DOH Health Promotion Bureau director.

Hontiveros, chairperson of the Senate health panel, said the committee will take all the inputs mentioned by the stakeholders in the country’s health industry as it reviews Republic Act No. 11900 or the Vaporized Nicotine and Non-Nicotine Products Regulation Act and other related measures.

“It is clear from our hearing that as the use of vape products increases, especially among youth, there are still gaps in our policies and in the implementation of current laws. Our task now is clear: to ensure that our laws keep pace with emerging public health risks and that the protection of our youth remains our common concern,” Hontiveros said.

“Our goal is simple but very important: to ensure that our laws truly protect the health of our citizens—especially the next generation of Filipinos, our youth,” she stressed.